34263 WA Srebrenica Service:. 1/7/15 10:26 Page 1 Westminster Abbey A S OLEMN COMMEMORATION FOR SREBRENICA MEMORIAL DAY Monday 6 th July 2015 Noon 34263 WA Srebrenica Service:. 1/7/15 10:26 Page 2 THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE Humanity has lived through the darkest of times, but few events have stained our collective soul more than the Srebrenica genocide . It seems unbelievable that, just twenty years ago, an inhuman plan could be hatched for ethnic cleansing in Europe, with more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys systematically and industrially murdered during the Bosnian War . Equally astounding was the Army of Republika Srpska’s success in co- opting civilians to secure its brutal goals through a carefully planned process of dehumanising Bosnian Muslims, that made it easier for murderers and collaborators to hunt and kill their enemy . Dehumanisation leading to genocide is not new. In Nazi Germany, Jews were labelled as sub-human and likened to vermin. Hutu killers in Rwanda referred to Tutsi victims as cockroaches . Stripped of possessions, livelihoods, dignity and their essential humanity, Bosnian Muslims suffered a similar fate. Described by the United Nations as ‘the worst crime on European soil since the Second World War ’, the massacres at Srebrenica were classed as genocide by both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia . Yet denial of this atrocity is widespread. The lessons learned from Srebrenica are that hatred and intolerance can flourish if left unchallenged. Even in Bosnia and Herzegovina , where people of different faiths had lived peacefully together for many years, an integrated society disintegrated. In 2009, the European Parliament declared 11 th July the official day of remembrance for the victims of Srebrenica. On this day each year, we are asked to honour the victims and survivors of the genocide, and pledge ourselves to creating a better, stronger and more cohesive society in the United Kingdom . These must be no empty pledges. We are committed to ensuring that people understand the horror that can be unleashed should we fail in our aim . The Srebrenica genocide is truly the darkest moment of human history since the Second World War. Thousands of innocent lives were taken in the name of nationalistic pride and because of their family names. We must all understand the consequences of leaving hatred and intolerance unchallenged. By confronting these twin evils, we give ourselves hope of illuminating the darkness and creating a better, safer and stronger society for all . 2 34263 WA Srebrenica Service:. 1/7/15 10:26 Page 3 To mark the 20 th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, twenty candles will be lit by the following people: Azir Osmanovic, survivor The Right Honourable Greg Clark MP The Baroness Williams of Trafford The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Dr Waqar Azmi OBE The Right Honourable Sir Eric Pickles MP The Right Honourable Hilary Benn MP The Right Honourable The Baroness Warsi The Right Honourable Nick Clegg MP Sara Subašić, granddaughter of Munira Subašić Nejira Subašić, granddaughter of Munira Subašić His Excellency The Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Court of St James His Excellency The Ambassador of Croatia to the Court of St James His Excellency The Ambassador of Kuwait to the Court of St James His Excellency The Ambassador of The United Arab Emirates to the Court of St James Her Excellency The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Court of St James His Excellency The Ambassador of Turkey to the Court of St James The Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon OBE Yasmin Qureshi MP Angus Robertson MP 3 34263 WA Srebrenica Service:. 1/7/15 10:26 Page 4 Members of the congregation are kindly requested to refrain from using private cameras, video, or sound recording equipment. Please ensure that mobile phones, pagers, and other electronic devices are switched off. The church is served by a hearing loop. Users should turn their hearing aid to the setting marked T. The service is conducted by The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster. The service is sung by the Westminster Abbey Special Service Choir, conducted by James O’Donnell, Organist and Master of the Choristers. The organ is played by Daniel Cook, Sub-Organist. Music before the service: Martin Ford, Assistant Organist, plays: Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir BWV 686 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) Chorale Partita ‘Sei gegrüßet, Johann Sebastian Bach Jesu gütig’ BWV 768 Prélude, Fugue et Variation César Franck ( 1822–90) Psalm Prelude Set 2 no 1 Herbert Howells (1892–1983) ‘De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine ’ The Lord Speaker is received at the Great West Door by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, and is conducted to her place in Quire. All remain seated. Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London and The High Sheriff of Greater London are received at the Great West Door by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, and are conducted to places in Quire. All remain seated. Their Excellencies The President of Bosnia and Herzegovina and The Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina are received by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster at the Great West Door , and are conducted to their places in the Lantern and Quire. All remain seated. The Lord Mayor of Westminster is received at the Great West Door by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, and is conducted to her seat. All stand, and then sit. 4 34263 WA Srebrenica Service:. 1/7/15 10:26 Page 5 ORDER OF SERVICE All stand . The Choir sings from the Great West Door THE INTROIT ROP , drop, slow tears, and bathe those beauteous feet, wDhich brought from heaven the news and Prince of peace. Cease not, wet eyes, his mercies to entreat; to cry for vengeance sin doth never cease. In your deep floods drown all my faults and fears; nor let his eye see sin, but through my tears. Song 46 Phineas Fletcher (1582–1650) Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625) Organist of Westminster Abbey 1623–25 All remain standing as the Choir and Clergy process to their places. The Sub-Organist plays: Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit BWV 669 Johann Sebastian Bach All remain standing. The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster, gives THE BIDDING N Westminster Abbey, a place of Christian prayer and commemoration at the heart of our nation for over a thousand years, we come into the pIresence of almighty God, bringing our hopes and fears, our sorrows and joys, our penitence and thanksgiving. 5 34263 WA Srebrenica Service:. 1/7/15 10:26 Page 6 We come with our own faith, together with those of other faiths and of no faith, to a solemn commemoration of the genocide in Srebrenica twenty years ago. We shall remember the events of those days and those who died and all those who suffer the consequences, and we shall pray for them. We shall reflect on our common humanity and the reality of man’s inhumanity to man, on the cruelty that lurks in each of us and that can be unleashed for destruction. Above all, we shall look for signs of hope, of forgiveness, of reconciliation, and we shall pray that under God all may be one. All remain standing for THE ACT OF REMEMBRANCE during which twenty candles are lit The Choir sings: YRIE eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. LKord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lennox Berkeley (1903–89) Mass for five voices All remain standing. The Reverend Christopher Stoltz, Minor Canon and Sacrist of Westminster, says: In solemn remembrance of those whose lives were taken by violence, and seeking God’s mercy and forgiveness, let us pray . 6 34263 WA Srebrenica Service:. 1/7/15 10:26 Page 7 Theo Gilbert, pupil, Bethnal Green Academy, says: ORD of life, you bring health and healing to a world marred by sin and strife. Enfold in your tender care those who perished at Srebrenica, aLnd deal graciously with families, friends, and communities still crying out from the depths of grief . Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer. Aakifah Khan, pupil, Witton Park Academy, says: ORD of the nations, you hate nothing that you have made . Look in mercy upon all your children , especially upon the peoples of Bosnia aLnd Herzegovina , and dispel the dark clouds of distrust and despair. Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer. The Venerable Andrew Tremlett, Canon in Residence, says: ORD of compassion, your mercies are new each morning. Lend your strength to those who endeavour to uphold the dignity of every man, wLoman, and child, and deepen our commitment to oppose intolerance and injustice. Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer. Nedžad Advić, Srebrenica survivor, says: E pray to almighty God , May grievance become hope MWay revenge become justice May mothers’ tears become prayers That Srebrenica Never happens again To no-one and nowhere . The Srebrenica Prayer displayed at the Srebrenica–Potočari Memorial Centre and Cemetery 7 34263 WA Srebrenica Service:. 1/7/15 10:26 Page 8 All sit for A TESTIMONY by Munira Subašić President, Mothers of Srebrenica Association ADDRESS you today on behalf of thousands of mothers whose children were brutally murdered in the Srebrenica genocide. The United KIingdom deserves recognition for its leading role in honouring the memory of our victims. We also applaud the work of Remembering Srebrenica in learning the lessons from our past to help create a better, safer, stronger society for everyone. Although it has been twenty years since this inhuman atrocity, some mothers are still searching for the bones of their children.